Best Counter Strike 2 Settings: Audio, Crosshair, Graphics & More

Counter-Strike 2 has been released, and you’ve got it installed to relive the fun of CS: GO and check out the new stuff. The big difference in CS2 is that it uses a better engine called Source 2, which makes the game look prettier with improved graphics and maps.

However, this new engine needs a little more computer power, so let’s talk about adjusting the game’s graphics settings to make it run even smoother on your PC and get the best performance for competitive play.

Best Counter Strike 2 Video Settings

Counter-Strike 2 hasn’t become overly demanding on your GPU (graphics card). To achieve the best performance, you’ll need to explore and optimize these video settings, which can lead to higher FPS. More FPS generally results in a smoother and more responsive game, giving you an advantage over your in-game opponents.

Here’s a summary of the both basic and advanced video settings in CS2 you should be using:

Main Menu Background Scenery	Personal Preference
Brightness	Your Choice
Aspect Ratio	16:9 / 4:3
Resolution	Monitor’s Native Resolution
Display Mode	Fullscreen
Laptop Power Savings	Off
Global Shadow Quality	Low
Model / Texture Detail	Medium
Texture Streaming	Disabled
Effect Details	Medium – High
Shader Details	Low
Boost Player Contrast	Disabled
Multicore Rendering	Enabled
Multisample Anti-Aliasing Mode	None
FXAA Anti-Aliasing Mode	On
Texture Filtering Mode	Trilinear (Low-end PCs) or 8x / 16x
Wait For Vertical Sync	Disabled

And there you have it, you have the best in-game video settings to boost your FPS in CS2. 

I’ve compared some graphics settings here to show you to difference between their different presets: 

Bonus Window Optimization Tips

Now we’ll adjust a few things in your Windows 10 or 11 settings to make your game run faster and more smoothly so you don’t run into problems like frame drops.

• Update Windows: Ensure your system is up to date to fix issues and improve performance.
• Enable Game Mode: Enhances gaming performance by prioritizing resources for your game.
• Set CS2 to High Priority: Prioritize Counter Strike 2 in Task Manager to allocate more resources to the game.
• Enable Ultimate Performance: Boost your computer’s performance by enabling Ultimate Performance mode in Power Options.
• Disable Unnecessary Background Programs: Close programs running in the background to free up system resources.
• Disable Full-Screen Optimization: Test FPS with both enabled and disabled to optimize performance.
• Clean Up Junk Files: Remove unnecessary files to improve game performance and prevent slowdowns.

Best GPU Settings For Counter-Strike 2

I recommend tweaking your GPU-specific settings to get the maximum performance in CS2.

Nvidia

Here’s a quick summary of Nvidia control panel settings you should use for CS2:

Image Sharpening	Player’s Choice
Anisotropic Filtering	Off
Ambient Occlusion	Off
Antialiasing FXAA	Off
Antialiasing Gamma Correction	On
Antialiasing Mode	Application Controlled
CUDA – GPUs	All
DSR Factors	Off
Low Latency Mode	Off
Max Frame Rate	Off
Monitor Technology	On (G-Sync only)
Multi-Frame Sampled AA (MFAA)	Off
OpenGL Rendering GPU	Select Your GPU
Power Management Mode	Prefer Maximum Performance
Preferred Refresh Rate	Highest Possible
Shader Cache	On
Texture Filtering – Anisotropic Sample Optimization	On
Texture Filtering – Negative LOD Bias	Allow
Texture Filtering Quality	High Performance
Trilinear Optimization	Texture Filtering
Threaded Optimization	On
Triple Buffering	Off
Vertical Sync	Off
Virtual Reality Pre-Rendered Frames	1

These settings should give you high FPS while maintaining excellent visual quality for spotting enemies. Just make sure your Nvidia drivers are up to date. You can either check for updates on the Nvidia website or use GeForce Experience to do so.

I also recommend exploring eXputer’s complete guide on Best Nvidia Control Panel settings.

AMD

A quick run-down of the best AMD Radeon settings to use for CS2:

Graphics Profile	eSports
Radeon Anti-Lag	Enabled
Radeon Chill	Disabled
Radeon Image Sharpening	Enabled
Sharpness	Player’s Choice
Radeon Enhanced Sync	Disabled
Wait For Vertical Refresh	Always Off
Anti-Aliasing Level	2x
Anti-Aliasing Method	Multisampling
Morphological Anti-Aliasing	Disabled
Anisotropic Filtering	Disabled
Texture Filtering Quality	Performance
Anti-Aliasing	Override Application Settings
Surface Format Optimization	Enabled
Tessellation Mode	Override Application Settings
Maximum Tessellation Level	8x
OpenGL Triple Buffering	Disabled

We have tried and tested dozens of settings, but these AMD settings are the most balanced. First, make sure that your AMD Drivers are updated to the latest version. Only then you be able to reap the most benefits out of these settings.

Counter-Strike 2 Audio Settings In-Game

Music Volume	0%
Audio Device	Stereo Headphones
L/R Isolation	0%
VOIP Volume	50%
Perspective Correction	Yes

Counter Strike 2, you can adjust how the game sounds to fit your preferences, but there’s no one-size-fits-all setting. Listening to things like gunshots and footsteps helps you know where enemies are These settings are a good starting point; you can tweak them until you’re comfortable with the in-game audio.

Bonus: Enable Loudness Equalization

In Windows, there’s a feature called “Loudness Equalization” for your sound devices. It makes the soft sounds louder, and the loud sounds a bit softer, making everything more even. This change applies to all the sounds on your computer, but it can make the audio in Counter Strike 2 sound clearer and better.

1. To use this feature, go to the search bar and type “System Sounds”. Click on the first result to open the window’s audio settings. 
2. After accessing Windows sound settings, go to the “Playback” tab and right-click on your current audio device (headphones). Then, select properties. 

   

3. Go to the “Enhancements” tab and select “Loudness Equalization.” Click on OK to save the changes. 

Now, audio sources in CS2  will be much clearer and louder, even at lower volumes.

Best Crosshair Settings For Counter Strike 2

In CS2, crosshairs play a major role in aiming properly. Having a good crosshair can mean the difference between nailing headshots with pinpoint accuracy and missing by a few pixels.

If you play competitively and want to have the same best settings the Counter Strike 2 Pros use, then this section is for you. Here are the best crosshair settings (in my opinion) for CS2. Your preference may vary.

Color	Red / Green / Blue
Crosshair Style	Classic Static
Center Dot	Removed
Crosshair’s Length	3.0 or 3.5
Thickness	1.1
Gap	-3.0
Crosshair Outline	Disabled
Deployed Weapon Gap	No
Show Player Crosshairs To Everyone	Enabled

Choosing these settings helped me get a much more accurate crosshair in the game, making nailing those pinpoint shots much easier. 

You can also adjust your crosshair to resemble the ones Pros use, but I recommend using the one you feel comfortable with. 

Best Launch Options For Counter Strike 2

To get the best performance in Counter Strike 2, it’s crucial to use the right launch options. There are many launch options to choose from, and each has its own purpose.

However, knowing what each option does is important because using them incorrectly can cause unexpected problems. For an optimal gaming experience in the game, I suggest experimenting with our recommended launch options, which have been selected to help you achieve the best performance.

To set these launch options, follow these straightforward steps:

• Open Steam and locate Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2 in your game library.
• Right-click on Counter Strike 2 and select “Properties.”
• In the Properties window, click on “Set Launch Options.”
• Paste the provided lines into the designated box and click “OK.”

Best Mouse Settings

In Counter Strike 2, your mouse is like your main weapon. You need to set up your mouse correctly and practice with those settings to get good at the game.

Now, there’s no one-size-fits-all mouse setting that works for everyone. So, in this section, I’ll help you figure out the best mouse settings that suit you.

• Low DPI Settings: Ranging from 100 to 400, these offer precision but require larger hand movements, ideal for long-range weapons.
• Medium DPI Settings: Between 600 to 1000, they balance precision and speed, making them versatile for various playstyles.
• High DPI Settings: Starting from 1200, these allow for swift movements but may be harder to control, beneficial for quick flick shots but not ideal for long-range weapons.

Best Keybinds For Counter Strike 2

Selecting the right keybindings can make a big difference in your success rate. You need quick access to all your tools to be highly effective in combat.

This means that you can instantly throw a Molotov or grenade at your enemy when an opportunity arises. Keybindings should match your style of play, but I’ve gathered some of the most commonly used ones in Counter Strike 2, including those favored by professional players. Let’s take a look at them.

Movement Keybinds

1. Toggle Inventory Display, Set it to I
2. The Movement Keys will be W, A, S, and D by default, which is the best option.
3. The Strafing keys should be set to A & D for better evasive movements.
4. Set the Walk to Shift. People are known to use caps lock to toggle walking but it’s not the most popular choice as CS2 now lets you choose to toggle walk. 
5. The Spacebar is always the default for Jump
6. For Duck, you can either use CTRL or C

Weapon & Tools Keybinds in Counter Strike 2

1. The Use function should be set to either F or E
2. Fire and Secondly Fire are defaulted to the right and left mouse clicks
3. For Reload, the best key bind is also the default one, R
4. Use Mouse3 for Radial Weapon Menu
5. Using the scroll up and down is the most intuitive for Next and Previous Weapons. 
6. Last Weapon Used is a really important feature and should be set to your extra mouse side buttons or Q

Other key binds are the best in the default state. Let’s move over to tools keybinds.

Here, most of the key binds will stay in default form. Only the important ones are as follows: 

1. Set the Explosive & Traps to 5 key
2. Put the HE Grenades to X
3. The Flashbang Grenades should be set to F
4. The Smoke Grenades can be bound to side-mouse buttons, i.e. mouse4
5. Set the Decoy Grenade to Z
6. Put the Molotov Coctail to C

Using these tools quickly in the heat of the battle can turn the tide. So, putting them in easy-to-access keybinds can help you use them in time of need.

Ending Words 

Considering I ran CS2 on a laptop version of Nvidia RTX 3070, I was getting consistence 120-160 FPS on 1600p resolution with my tested/optimized settings. Now, these FPS may sound like overkill but higher frames do give you a significant edge in competitive play.

As for any performance hitches or bugs, I’ve encountered none at all. However, I did encounter some reports on Steam forums and Reddit that CS2 is performing badly for several players.

I am fairly confident this is a one-off thing as developers do keep pushing out performance passes for the game. If you’re one of those players inflicted with low FPS in CS2, try using the settings I’ve recommended in this guide. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference they make in improving the performance of CS2 on your PC.